I regret persuading 'vindictive' Burrows to join party, says Beattie

Doug Beattie has said he regrets persuading Jon Burrows to join the Ulster Unionist Party and described him as "vindictive," following his departure from the party.

Beattie said he had been left "saddened and a little bit angry" after he stepped away from the UUP on Sunday. He said it had become clear his membership was no longer "tenable".

The former party leader and Upper Bann assembly member had been facing the prospect of being deselected by his constituency association ahead of the next assembly election.

In a letter sent to party leader Jon Burrows on Sunday, Beattie said it was with "genuine sadness" that he was tendering his resignation with immediate effect.

A UUP spokesperson confirmed on Sunday they had received his resignation and thanked him for "his many years of service to his country and to the party," but added that party did not accept Beattie's "characterisation of recent events" in his letter.

Beattie told BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show on Monday that there was "an insidious element within the party who have been continually briefing against me with regards to selections and other issues".

He was first elected as an assembly member to Stormont in 2016, having previously been a councillor for the UUP.

Beattie said he had a long-standing relationship with Burrows and had persuaded him to join the party before he was selected to replace Colin Crawford as the MLA for North Antrim.

He now says he regrets this.

"I see a marked change in the individual," he added.

"He got a lot of help from many people, he suddenly changed to not playing with the team in my mind and being more interested in the Jon Burrows show."

Beattie said there are "serious problems" within the UUP and, with a "toxic atmosphere," having a "detrimental effect on many people".

He said he would not recommend North Antrim voters to vote for Burrows.

"It is not the party, because there are some absolutely outstanding people in that party. They are my friends - some of them may not be my friends, but there are still exceptional people within that party.

"But the leadership at this moment in time I think is going in the wrong direction, it is not the direction that I joined the party for."

Last month, BBC News NI revealed he was facing deselection by his constituency association, in favour of another candidate, Kyle Savage, a councillor on Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

He said he was nearly "tipped over the edge " by a telephone call last Thursday in which Burrows told him he was reopening "a disciplinary case against me for tweets which I apologised for four years ago and had considerable media attention".

Beattie said it was only after he submitted his resignation letter on Sunday morning that he learned the party management board had already decided to suspend him.

Beattie told The Nolan Show he thought Burrows was "vindictive" and it was a "vindictive manner" to tell him that he was "going to reopen a historical case from four years ago".

In 2022, Beattie apologised and said he was "deeply ashamed and embarrassed" by a number of historical tweets he published.

He said that on Thursday, Burrows had raised an incident from November 2013 in which Beattie had commented on a social media post of a car advertisement, which included a woman in underwear and referenced the word pre-owned.

Burrows said that post was still on Beattie's social media timeline on Thursday, but Beattie insisted it had not been left there deliberately and thought he had deleted it.

"I went back on last night to check if I had deleted it, and it was still there, I deleted it again, I didn't leave it there on purpose, why would I?"

He said he had apologised.

Beattie also disputed claims that he had used "abusive language" to Burrows in a meeting involving the UUP's assembly team.

"I was patronised because I was passionate," he said. "I was patronised and I raised my voice, it's as simple as that."

He said he could "not remember" if he swore.

Beattie said that he had spoken in a "raised voice", telling Burrows that "he had let these people down and in particular councillor Kate Evans who had lost her mother 13 weeks ago".

Beattie was also asked about a video he had posted on social media last month in which he claimed to be canvassing with councillors Ian Burns and Glenn Barr in Banbridge.

He admitted he was not with the councillors and that he had been "economical with the truth".

When pressed, he said, "I lied, I was dishonest".

"I wasn't dishonest in a manner to damage anybody, it was because I was trying to promote two elected representatives of our party and the party itself," he said.

In his resignation letter, Beattie said he no longer felt "at home within the party he led for three years".

He said that over the last 12 years he had made many "valued friendships" within the UUP but that over the past two years he had noticed a "marked difference" in relations between the party management board, the constituency associations, the party's councillor association and the MLA group at Stormont.

He said this had become "accelerated" after Burrows became party leader earlier this year, claiming the party's MLAs were "increasingly marginalised, ignored, isolated and discredited".

The Upper Bann assembly member said even as he raised concerns directly with Burrows, an "insidious campaign of rumour and gossip" was being waged against him.

In a statement on Sunday, a UUP spokesperson said they had received the resignation and thanked Beattie "for his many years of service to his country and to the party".

"We wish him well," it continued.

However, the spokesperson said that "the party does not accept the characterisation of recent events set out in Mr Beattie's letter.

"The party management board met on Thursday evening to consider serious concerns about Mr Beattie's conduct and judgement.

"The board unanimously agreed a course of action, which was due to be communicated to Mr Beattie by the party leader on Monday.

"Mr Beattie's resignation has overtaken that process."

Speaking at Stormont on Monday, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Beattie has "served this assembly well".

"It's not for me to engage in speculation around the Ulster Unionist Party, it's a matter for them.

"If I can be personal for a minute, I don't believe that he deserves to be treated the way he is treated," Robinson said.